Murrmurr
SF VIP
- Location
- Sacramento, California
Tell that to a lion or a bear or man-eating shark, and pass it along to venomous snakes and spiders, and a few viruses.
God has a plan. An observation and a question.
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RadishRose
SF VIP
- Location
- Connecticut, USA
How would they know?
spectratg
Senior Member
- Location
- Adamstown, MD
Really? We are destroying entire species on a massive basis, mass-level extinction events. None of the animals you site are doing that, or have the ability to do so.
spectratg
Senior Member
- Location
- Adamstown, MD
Interesting perspective. I concur.
Murrmurr
SF VIP
- Location
- Sacramento, California
Maybe the extinction of some species occurs because they didn't evolve as efficiently as others. Could be that some countries over-fish, not only their own waters, but other nation's waters as well.
I just wanted to point out that we aren't all predators, certainly not apex predators. I hate those blanket statements about how evil humans are. Do we need to be more conscientious? Of course, and 10s of thousands of people are actually actively working on problems and solutions.
I look at our little planet, barely a blip on the universal radar, and wonder.
My commercial fisherman son has this daughter.
She has Dravet's syndrome
Epileptic fits throughout the day and night
She's approaching 10 years of age
Not expected to live to her teens
He watches over her 24/7
It greatly inhibits his fishing
Fishing is his money
He takes her with him
Horrific endeavor
He tends her seizures with the care of The Creator
I've never seen anything quite like it
He's a tough character
Tougher than I ever thought of being
But, she has given him a purpose
He comments on this from time to time
It has changed his life
It certainly has changed mine
I see the Creator as tending us, this earth
with greater care than I can ever imagine
We're destined to not exist forever
We can't help it
We're his Dravet's syndrome children
But, he has this plan
Not just for us, but for the universe
I believe you. In studying the bible, I never found a passage that said He would not give us more than we could handle. All anyone has to do really is look hard at all the suffering souls on the edge to know this cannot be true.
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I like that. One of my favorite verses is, 1 Corinthians 13:12
"For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known."
I compare my brain to God's, as my dog's brain to mine. She can't understand why I keep taking her to the vet who does terrible things to her -- the last time he pulled all her teeth! I can't explain to her that it was to save her pain and sickness in the long run because she can't understand that.
Serenity4321
Senior Member
- Location
- Florida
I believe God's plan us to allow us to figure out what life is all about so eventually we all become so enlightened we all love each other and realize we are all connected ..living in perfect harmony..but I wonder.... then what? 
Em in Ohio
Senior Member
- Location
- OH HI OH
You say you believe in god and the devil. I say that I believe in good and evil. The only difference is one letter per word.
God and the devil are ethereal concepts. Good and evil are easily observable. GO
There is little difference in Earthly outcomes: Whether a person chooses to be good or is good because they believe in god; whether a person chooses to be evil or is evil because they believe the devil made them do it.
For me, it is just easier to believe in the observable - good or evil. As for heaven and hell, that I do believe is what humankind creates on planet Earth.
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Agreed, but I see nothing wrong with the belief if it gives some people comfort.
I always expect believers to justify everything that happens by saying it's "God's Plan."God has a plan. I hear this a lot especially from desperate people or those who are suffering. Some tell me this when I am struggling and it doesn't comfort me a bit. I wish it did. I usually go silent when someone who is hurting badly says this, more to themselves than to me, and just let them talk.
We all have challenging times in our lives at some point and feel stretched to the limit. Maybe we need real help or a definite plan that we are privy to not just patronizing words that are easily dismissed. I've seen a lot of loved ones die, many well before their time, a couple by suicide and I wonder, what was God's plan for them because it didn't work out too well.
A plan implies sharing. In war, Generals make plans and share them with subordinates. How else can a battle be won? Similar strategies are employed in sports where teams have a game plan with specific plays to achieve certain results and victory.
What good is a plan when it is kept hidden from those it directly concerns?
How do you feel about the title "God has a plan"? And do you think His plan should be shared with us so we could cope better with life's slings and arrows?
A friend of my sister's (who pretends to be Orthodox but only follows the customs that aren't too.....inconvenient for her) says,
"God is in control of everything." I find her rather amusing, actually, especially when she tries to turn me into a believer.
I said, "So....was God in control when 3,000 people were killed on 911?"
"Yes," she said.
"Was God in control when the Oklahoma Federal Building was bombed & 168 people were killed?"
"Yes," she said.
"What about the 25 children who were killed in the day care center on the 1st floor?"
"God was in control of that, too" she said."
I just let her go on & on. Doesn't bother me.
Even some friends who know I'm not religious will say "Pray for me" when things are going bad for them.
I just say, "OK."
This post answers a lot of questions for me. I agree with you that God's brain and ours are on different wavelengths in this universe, as ours are to animals'. But your dog trusted you and now she has no teeth? Not one single tooth left in her head? Don't you think she misses chewing? What can she eat? Worse how can she defend herself from other animal's threats? She has no teeth to bare. I've seen people keep cats alive who are deaf and blind and I wonder about that. Maybe you had all your dog's teeth pulled for you because you didn't want to let go?
Maybe God treats us like this also. Maybe this why some suffer so terribly? Churches still place more value on life itself than the quality of the individual's life in question. Maybe feelings should matter more? I would be a happier and more comforted woman if God treated me with more tenderness and understanding and yes, compassion, because our time upon this Earth is so limited compared to infinity and the quality of that existence matters greatly, more so than length of days. Does God not see this? If He does and it doesn't matter to Him then there's a problem.
The Old testament was more clear on the shoulds and shouldn'ts and what people can expect from God in return. Believers were blessed with health, family, prosperity, victory, successful trade, large flocks, etc. all physical benefits that could not be questioned. ( I'm not talking about Job here.) And I did feel that God was particularly harsh on Adam and Eve who were suicidal when God cast them out of Eden. What would have been wrong with just forgiving them and keeping Satan out?
Capt Lightning
Well-known Member
- Location
- Historic Buchan, Scotland
A true tale... I worked for many years for 'Big Blue' in Hampshire and my children attended the local C of E school. Occasionally, the local vicar would attend the "put the fear of God into them". (At that time the Vicar was Rev. Pincent, father of the Olympic medalist)
One day my son said they were told that God had made the heavens and Earth, the trees etc etc..
Mrs. L asked him if God made computers too, to which he replied, "No, IBM make them"
One day my son said they were told that God had made the heavens and Earth, the trees etc etc..
Mrs. L asked him if God made computers too, to which he replied, "No, IBM make them"
I generally agree with your agreement until belief becomes political.
Well first of all it really wasn't my decision, it was the vets. I took Maggie in because she had a big lump on her cheek from an abscessed tooth, something very painful. The vet put her to sleep to pull the one tooth, discovered she had gum disease all through her mouth and pulled them all while she was asleep.
I was shocked to get her back that way, but was assured she would have died from all the infection and been in severe pain for weeks before she went. Of course she misses chewing and I'm sad for her for that, but I make special soft food for her every day and she enjoys that very much. She has a nice safe fenced in yard with no predators, just rabbits and squirrels she still chases. She can still go for walks, bark at everything and take naps with me. She seems happy and waggy and pain free. I would never keep an animal alive who seemed to be in pain or lost and confused.
How can anyone who knows anything about the Holocaust, all the wars endlessly killing people, the horrifying diseases of people and animals, famine, mass shootings, natural disasters wiping out millions, and especially human stupidity and hatred, believe that all that is part of "God's plan?" What kind of god would have such a plan? Would you really worship such a being?
It's just a mindless bromide, another way of saying, "We just don't know."
We need a "plan" to be kinder to each other, and to the planet. It's up to us, and OUR plan. Leave the imaginary stuff out of it.
It's just a mindless bromide, another way of saying, "We just don't know."
We need a "plan" to be kinder to each other, and to the planet. It's up to us, and OUR plan. Leave the imaginary stuff out of it.
And what might that be?
Would it be enforced?
Em in Ohio
Senior Member
- Location
- OH HI OH
Sunny said:
We need a "plan" to be kinder to each other, and to the planet. It's up to us, and OUR plan.
We need a "plan" to be kinder to each other, and to the planet. It's up to us, and OUR plan.
To me it means treating others as you wish others to treat you and treating the planet as if it is the home your grandkids will inherit from you. What Sunny said seems simple enough. What parts did you not understand?
Grampa Don
Yep, that's me
- Location
- Orange county, Calif.
There's a difference between a plan and a rule. You don't have to enforce a plan. If you can convince others it's a good plan it will be followed. Unfortunately, in todays world that has about as good a chance as the proverbial snowball in Hell.
Oh, I understand the premise
Check out the ten commandments
However;
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Knight
Well-known Member
An Observation
@Sunny
How can anyone who knows anything about the Holocaust, all the wars endlessly killing people, the horrifying diseases of people and animals, famine, mass shootings, natural disasters wiping out millions, and especially human stupidity and hatred, believe that all that is part of "God's plan?" What kind of god would have such a plan? Would you really worship such a being?
It's just a mindless bromide, another way of saying, "We just don't know."
Kind of interesting that all the above was ignored in favor of questioning
This
We need a "plan" to be kinder to each other, and to the planet. It's up to us, and OUR plan. Leave the imaginary stuff out of it.
Ignoring all the negative things that happen & giving credit for only good seems kind of lopsided to me.
@Sunny
How can anyone who knows anything about the Holocaust, all the wars endlessly killing people, the horrifying diseases of people and animals, famine, mass shootings, natural disasters wiping out millions, and especially human stupidity and hatred, believe that all that is part of "God's plan?" What kind of god would have such a plan? Would you really worship such a being?
It's just a mindless bromide, another way of saying, "We just don't know."
Kind of interesting that all the above was ignored in favor of questioning
This
We need a "plan" to be kinder to each other, and to the planet. It's up to us, and OUR plan. Leave the imaginary stuff out of it.
Ignoring all the negative things that happen & giving credit for only good seems kind of lopsided to me.
spectratg
Senior Member
- Location
- Adamstown, MD
Since we are way off topic here, my dog is also named Maggie. She is a 90-pound golden doodle, eight years old. I got her shortly after my wife died. You took the right action for your pooch! I would have done the same.